Level Doubles (Vale Badminton Club)
The basic service is the low one. The server should follow it to the net to cover any replies and to force the receiver to lift the return to the server’s partner in the rear court. High serves are used for variety and, since the receiver will have a chance to hit downwards, the server should retreat for defence to a position that is level with his partner in the mid-court.
The same system should be applied during rallies; if you or your partner lift the shuttle so that it can be hit downwards by your opponent, then adopt the side-by-side defensive formation; if, on the other hand, the shuttle is above the net height, it should be hit downwards and the front and back formation adopted.
When using the former defensive formation, the aim is to play shots that the opposition will not be able to attack. These are usually drives through the front player or net shots in front of him. When a shot like this is attempted, as soon as the shuttle reaches a position on the opponent’s side from where it cannot be attacked (i.e. at or below net height), the striker should immediately move in towards the net. This converts a defensive position into an attacking one. When the conversion shots are not feasible, the shuttle should be lifted deep to the rear of the court to allow time in which to cover the next shot.
In this attacking formation the rear court player should keep hitting downwards in a straight direction so that his partner knows roughly where the shuttle will be played. He should also use a variety of pace and angles to try to produce a weak reply for his partner. Only under exceptional pressure should the shuttle be lifted, because his partner at the net will be an easy target to attack.
The net player should be looking to intercept any replies that pass within reach. The racket must be kept above net height so that the shuttle can be taken as early as possible. If the shuttle cannot be ‘killed’, then it should be played tight to the net to force the opposition to lift it again, thereby maintaining the attack.
When attacking, cross court shots should be played only occasionally, as they put the partner out of position and create space for the opposition to exploit. (Courtesy of http://www.badmintonact.asn.au)
Training Tips - Most important doubles shots(2009/09/10) Apacs Training Tips Sometimes there can be very little that separates a good player from a very good player and in a game of doubles this tends to be the serve and return.
What the new scoring has done is made the serve and return even more vitally important, no longer can you afford to waste a serve knowing your partner has one left. Equally as important because of the same reasons is the service return, a well placed shot can give the attack straight away and force your opponents to defend.
Here are my 3 most important shots in a game of doubles:
Serve - Variations of this are important but the most important is definitely the low service to the T and very occasionally a well placed flick out wide. If you play a game of good doubles, see how your serve holds up and how many mistakes you make from it. By mistake this does not mean just out or in the net, you must also include bad serves which give your opponent an easy attack. If you are making more than 3 errors like this then your serve needs work.
Serving practice tip - Here it is important that you have a goal, something to focus on as serving without this can become quite boring. Start by placing a racket so the head is lined up in the diagonal box at the T. The aim is to serve to the T just over the net so the shuttle drops onto the racket head. You should try to do 50 serves and see how many you can get to land on your racket head. Practice this as often as you can, a good serve forces your opponent to lift and gives you a good attacking benchmark to win the point.
Service return - Here my personal favourite places to return the shuttle are down the line in-between server and servers partner (this does not need to be tight on the line, leave a margin for error). A deeper drive into the back players back hand corner or if the server is serving to the T then a soft push at his body, or a drive at the rear court players body.
Drop shot - Now this may come as a surprise but having a good drop shot in a game of doubles opens up the court and allows you to dictate the rallies. At a medium level of badminton if you are not blessed with a Simon Archer or Bao Chunlai sized smash you will need to be creative to get the short lift to win the point. A drop shot to the middle landing around the T can cause confusion over who should be taking the shuttle, this slight hesitation can cause a shorter lift or for your opponents to try a net shot when the shuttle is too low to really be considering this shot. What you must be careful when playing this shot is that you don't overuse it. The last thing you want is someone charging your drop shot and leathering it at your doubles partners head. To combat this a straight punch clear is always a good shot to throw in once or twice, never go cross court with this type of clear as it leaves your partner in no mans land not knowing which side to come back on.
I often get asked what racket i would recommend and for the majority of balanced doubles players from club, right through to International level i would suggest the Apacs Tantrum 200 badminton racket. This is a well balanced, medium weight racket that offers excellent overhead power combined with great feel for touch shots. This also happens to be the racket i use!
If you would like any advice, training tips or racket recommendations then please feel free to contact us on admin@apacsuk.co.uk
Winning Badminton Doubles (Badminton tv site's "coaching tips"content)
Forecourt and reacourt positioning/movement
Changing Positions (attack/Defence)
Tactics - Men's Doubles Rallying (courtesy of Badminton World TV -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDYyIFWBjHs)
Tactics - Women's Doubles Rallying (Courtesy of Badminton World TV
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBhuGxESt-Y
Level Doubles (Vale Badminton Club)
The basic service is the low one. The server should follow it to the net to cover any replies and to force the receiver to lift the return to the server’s partner in the rear court. High serves are used for variety and, since the receiver will have a chance to hit downwards, the server should retreat for defence to a position that is level with his partner in the mid-court.
The same system should be applied during rallies; if you or your partner lift the shuttle so that it can be hit downwards by your opponent, then adopt the side-by-side defensive formation; if, on the other hand, the shuttle is above the net height, it should be hit downwards and the front and back formation adopted.
When using the former defensive formation, the aim is to play shots that the opposition will not be able to attack. These are usually drives through the front player or net shots in front of him. When a shot like this is attempted, as soon as the shuttle reaches a position on the opponent’s side from where it cannot be attacked (i.e. at or below net height), the striker should immediately move in towards the net. This converts a defensive position into an attacking one. When the conversion shots are not feasible, the shuttle should be lifted deep to the rear of the court to allow time in which to cover the next shot.
In this attacking formation the rear court player should keep hitting downwards in a straight direction so that his partner knows roughly where the shuttle will be played. He should also use a variety of pace and angles to try to produce a weak reply for his partner. Only under exceptional pressure should the shuttle be lifted, because his partner at the net will be an easy target to attack.
The net player should be looking to intercept any replies that pass within reach. The racket must be kept above net height so that the shuttle can be taken as early as possible. If the shuttle cannot be ‘killed’, then it should be played tight to the net to force the opposition to lift it again, thereby maintaining the attack.
When attacking, cross court shots should be played only occasionally, as they put the partner out of position and create space for the opposition to exploit.
(Courtesy of http://www.badmintonact.asn.au)
Training Tips - Most important doubles shots(2009/09/10) Apacs Training Tips
Sometimes there can be very little that separates a good player from a very good player and in a game of doubles this tends to be the serve and return.
What the new scoring has done is made the serve and return even more vitally important, no longer can you afford to waste a serve knowing your partner has one left. Equally as important because of the same reasons is the service return, a well placed shot can give the attack straight away and force your opponents to defend.
Here are my 3 most important shots in a game of doubles:
Serve - Variations of this are important but the most important is definitely the low service to the T and very occasionally a well placed flick out wide. If you play a game of good doubles, see how your serve holds up and how many mistakes you make from it. By mistake this does not mean just out or in the net, you must also include bad serves which give your opponent an easy attack. If you are making more than 3 errors like this then your serve needs work.
Serving practice tip - Here it is important that you have a goal, something to focus on as serving without this can become quite boring. Start by placing a racket so the head is lined up in the diagonal box at the T. The aim is to serve to the T just over the net so the shuttle drops onto the racket head. You should try to do 50 serves and see how many you can get to land on your racket head. Practice this as often as you can, a good serve forces your opponent to lift and gives you a good attacking benchmark to win the point.
Service return - Here my personal favourite places to return the shuttle are down the line in-between server and servers partner (this does not need to be tight on the line, leave a margin for error). A deeper drive into the back players back hand corner or if the server is serving to the T then a soft push at his body, or a drive at the rear court players body.
(Courtesy of Badminton World tv - www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6FHTqdHGXo)
Drop shot - Now this may come as a surprise but having a good drop shot in a game of doubles opens up the court and allows you to dictate the rallies. At a medium level of badminton if you are not blessed with a Simon Archer or Bao Chunlai sized smash you will need to be creative to get the short lift to win the point. A drop shot to the middle landing around the T can cause confusion over who should be taking the shuttle, this slight hesitation can cause a shorter lift or for your opponents to try a net shot when the shuttle is too low to really be considering this shot. What you must be careful when playing this shot is that you don't overuse it. The last thing you want is someone charging your drop shot and leathering it at your doubles partners head. To combat this a straight punch clear is always a good shot to throw in once or twice, never go cross court with this type of clear as it leaves your partner in no mans land not knowing which side to come back on.
I often get asked what racket i would recommend and for the majority of balanced doubles players from club, right through to International level i would suggest the Apacs Tantrum 200 badminton racket. This is a well balanced, medium weight racket that offers excellent overhead power combined with great feel for touch shots. This also happens to be the racket i use!
If you would like any advice, training tips or racket recommendations then please feel free to contact us on admin@apacsuk.co.uk